God and Empire
Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
The bestselling author and prominent New Testament scholar draws parallels between 1st–century Roman Empire and 21st–century United States, showing how the radical messages of Jesus and Paul can lead us to peace today.
Using the tools of expert biblical scholarship and a keen eye for current events, bestselling author John Dominic Crossan deftly presents the tensions exhibited in the Bible between political power and God’s justice. Through the revolutionary messages of Jesus and Paul, Crossan reveals what the Bible has to say about land and economy, violence and retribution, justice and peace, and ultimately, redemption. He examines the meaning of “kingdom of God” prophesized by Jesus, and the equality recommended to Paul by his churches, contrasting these messages of peace against the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the book of Revelations, that has been co-opted by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify the United State’s military actions in the Middle East.
In this provocative work of political theology, Crossan reveals:
Roman Imperial Theology: Unpacking the "peace through victory" ideology that dominated the 1st-century world, drawing direct parallels to the rhetoric of modern global powers.Kingdom of God vs. Empire: A deep dive into Jesus’s radical counter-program—a kingdom built not on power and violence, but on God’s distributive justice and equality.Nonviolent Resistance: How the teachings of Jesus and Paul functioned as a powerful ideological challenge to Roman rule, offering a path to redemption outside of imperial retribution.Apocalypse Re-examined: A critical look at how the Book of Revelation’s apocalyptic vision has been co-opted to justify military action, contrasting it with a message of genuine peace.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this fine study of civilization, culture and transformation, Father\t\t Crossan asks important questions: have those who resort to violence as a means\t\t of change succeeded in their quest for empire? Or has nonviolence been more\t\t effective in bringing about lasting change? Crossan, professor emeritus at De\t\t Paul University and author of several well-received works including\t\t The Historical Jesus, believes that the\t\t solution is not in violent intervention but in the coming of the Kingdom of God\t\t on earth. But how, and when, will this Kingdom come? In comparing the missions\t\t of Jesus and John the Baptist, Crossan states his idea clearly: "Jesus differed\t\t precisely from John in emphasizing not the future-presence but the\t\t already-presence of God's Kingdom as the Great Divine Cleanup of the world." In\t\t other words, Christ saw the Kingdom as a present and active reality. Crossan\t\t uses the teachings of Jesus to promote his thesis, and then turns to an\t\t unlikely ally "the Apostle Paul "by suggesting that Paul's emphasis on\t\t equality and freedom helped carry forward Jesus' program of nonviolent change.\t\t Crossan's latest work presents a complex subject in a clear and powerful way,\t\t and it merits a wide readership.
Customer Reviews
God and Empire
This is a wonderful book that untwists the twist about the second coming of Jesus. Jesus is and always will be a God of love, mercy, and equal justice. He will always be the Jesus that came to earth and lived among us. He will always ask us to be children of love as our maker is love.
Invisible
And yet, beyond the sunrise and clouds is an illuminating deity.
In the ocean waves, a power surpassed by any known strength.
Nature calls his name in howls of wind.
Mercy falls within the falling rain.
And sun rays dance upon the growing fields announcing the invisible.
Children play in circles on the ground and feel the immensity of earth.
Imaginings fostered there, of God and who, and what that means.
So in our childish ways, we learn of God invisible.
And as adults, far more skeptical, we still feel drawn by this invisible.